Episode 4: Justus Podcast - Episode 4 - Umi - Justus Board Member - Equity, New York, Understanding Community Boards & Music

Karma Koala Podcast

In this episode we speak to long term Justus board member, Umi.
Umi was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. and has been practicing and performing since the age of 8..
He is a producer and solo artist working with dead prez and Prisoners of War (POW).
He has also opened for or shared the stage with Jay Z, Dave Chapelle, Nas, yasiin bey, Rick Ross, Ice Cube, Method and RedMan, Maceo Parker, Busta Rhymes, Common and Erykah Badu.
Over the years Umi has worked with dead prez on four instore album releases, released 6 solo projects entitled A Race Against Time, R.I.F. A Tribute to J.Dilla, Rider Music, I'm Just A Prisoner, Gone But Not Forgotten and the other side of hiStory. The latter was released and distributed worldwide through Sony Red Records.
Along with music, he has directed a number of music videos and short films.
He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, owns several art galleries, an online cannabis directory and can be found writing books and films. He most recently directed the promising short film, Crossing the Color Line and is set to publish his first novel, Walking.
Umi talks about his past in the cannabis legacy market, what the current issues are in New York and gives us some great insights on the best ways to approach community and community boards in the boroughs to help build a cannabis business that engages with communities to build long term partnerships.